After the two ran to the Air Raid Shelter in the center of the park, one following the other.
They saw that the entrance to the Air Raid Shelter was about two meters high and wide, and there was a very thick and intricately crafted iron door at the entrance.
The two arrived at the door and found that it had no lock and no gaps, giving the impression that it was utterly indestructible.
Wang Zhi began searching the iron door for details; since they were told to go with a card, the Black Card in his hand must be the key to opening this iron door.
After searching for a while, the two finally spotted a pattern on the right side of the door that matched the card. There was no card slot, so he placed the Black Card directly against it.
["Identity verification successful. Opening now."]
A mechanical voice sounded from the iron door, and then the door opened by itself from the middle.
"Let's go in," said Old He.
As the two were about to enter, Wang Zhi, who had a habit of being furtive, subconsciously glanced back. But that glance revealed something startling: a woman was silently following them?
Old He, standing nearby, quickly noticed Wang Zhi's unusual behavior. When he turned around and saw a strange person tracking them, he instinctively prepared to attack, but Wang Zhi stopped him.
The fact that this woman could follow them without them noticing suggested her stealth skills were considerable; as for her combat prowess, that remained uncertain.
More importantly, the woman before them didn't seem malicious. Even though Old He was a soldier, there was no need to casually injure her and ruin the peace.
If the woman intended to fight, she likely wouldn't have waited for the two of them to turn around before making her move.
After Wang Zhi pulled back Old He, the woman slowly approached, and at that moment, the iron door automatically closed via a sensor.
He and Old He leaned against one side, watching the woman tensely.
When the three of them turned on the lighting equipment, they discovered a ladder leading underground.
Wang Zhi observed the woman beside him, who was the same height as him. Her long, silver hair was especially conspicuous in the dark stairwell, and even in the dim environment, it couldn't hide her exquisitely refined features.
Although the other party was smiling, she still gave him a sense of extreme danger. In an enclosed space, facing two men while maintaining a smile seemed careless, but in reality, she was constantly monitoring Old He to be ready to implement different countermeasures at any moment.
"Um... My name is Wang Zhi, and this is Old He. May I ask what your name is, young lady?" Seeing the three of them frozen in a standoff, Wang Zhi was the first to awkwardly introduce himself.
"Hehe... Big Sister is called Ying; don't be afraid."
As Ying spoke with a smile, she moved to his right side and reached out to gently smooth down his hair.
Wang Zhi instinctively wanted to dodge, but realized he had nowhere to retreat. Her positioning was also very deliberate, placing him directly in the middle, so even if Old He on his left wanted to make a move, he would first have to get past him.
"How about this... the three of us team up? We can walk forward and see what's there?" Wang Zhi finally proposed.
After he finished speaking, Old He had no intention of moving, instead staring vigilantly at the woman, as if he would immediately strike if she made any unusual move. Finally, the woman glanced at Old He, then at Wang Zhi, let out a sneer, and took the lead.
Walking behind, Wang Zhi noticed under the flashlight beam that Ying's backpack was military-issue, and a Dagger was clipped to her waist. He initially thought Ying was also military personnel, but quickly dismissed that idea.
"Speaking of which, Sister Ying, is the supply in just one backpack enough?" Wang Zhi was puzzled by Ying only carrying one backpack.
"Hahaha... You don't really think the end of the World is real, do you?" Ying, walking ahead, mocked him.
Wang Zhi could offer no rebuttal to Ying's statement, as there was no evidence supporting it either way.
The three searched their way forward for a long time, finally reaching the end of the staircase. At the same time, Wang Zhi calculated in his mind that they had walked a total of 1024 steps. Calculating each step at approximately 20 centimeters, this meant their current position was over 200 meters underground?
Despite this, the oxygen here was still ample, suggesting the presence of a large ventilation system.
Ahead, there was another iron door identical to the one above. Just as Wang Zhi was about to skillfully place his card on the reader for verification, he was stopped by Old He.
"Wait!" Old He pulled a handgun out of his backpack.
Wang Zhi turned around and was even more surprised. Although he had long guessed Old He was a soldier, he was still startled when he saw the handgun. After all, living in peaceful times, he had never seen anyone waving a real gun around in front of him; if he were shot right there, no one would ever know.
Thinking of this, Wang Zhi asked with some worry, "What's wrong, Old He?"
Old He also looked somewhat tense. Even for a well-trained soldier, there is always some apprehension when encountering the unknown.
At the same time, he was startled again when he turned his head to look at Ying.
He saw that Ying also had a handgun in her hand!
Wang Zhi looked at the two of them, realizing he was the only one unarmed? But thinking about it differently, as long as the two of them didn't harm him, it was a form of protection in a sense.
Even if they encountered danger, they would share the hardship first, and it wouldn't be too late to sell him out after they couldn't hold on any longer.
"Get ready, I'm opening it!" Seeing the two leaning to either side, Wang Zhi placed the Black Card on the reader.
"Identity verification successful," the mechanical voice sounded again.
The iron door opened!
Inside, there was no danger the three had imagined, but rather an elevator space.
Wang Zhi scratched his head, found a rope from his bag, tied one end to a water bottle, and tossed it into the elevator.
Seeing that no traps were triggered, he cautiously stepped into the elevator first. The two behind him followed after seeing Wang Zhi enter without setting off any alarms.
After the three of them entered, Wang Zhi observed his surroundings. This elevator seemed to have only one button, with no other options!
*Drip!* He pressed the key source, and the iron doors slowly began to close. There was light inside the elevator, but they couldn't see outside clearly. As for which direction the elevator was moving, they couldn't feel anything; only the three of them remained, standing in their respective corners, observing each other.
"Brother He, Sister Ying, could we put our guns away first? Since the three of us met here, it must be fate. Maybe we'll have to advance and retreat together later, haha..." Wang Zhi forced a dry laugh, looking at the guns in their hands.
What he needed most right now was an alliance; he currently had no combat power, and the two beside him were the best candidates.
"That makes sense... You walk in front later," Ying said with a smile.
"Me... Alright then." Wang Zhi reluctantly compromised; he was in a very passive position right now.
After about ten minutes, another *drip* sounded in the elevator, indicating they had reached their destination. The three, who had just relaxed, looked toward the iron doors again.
When the doors opened, what greeted their eyes was a massive base whose scale he couldn't estimate. Guards were constantly moving around the hall, and furthermore, every single one was holding an Automatic Rifle!
Simultaneously, there were many other people, just like them, who had arrived recently. At a glance, there were over thirty people gathered in one spot, seemingly handling something?
Following their previous agreement, Wang Zhi took the lead exiting the elevator, preparing to go to that crowd to see what the situation was.
"Hey, hey, hey! New arrivals, line up behind! Didn't you see everyone is queuing up?"
As soon as Wang Zhi stepped into the crowd, someone inexplicably shooed him to the back of the line.